How Not to Lead a New Team.
From the videoAmorim Press Conference — How To Be A Leader in Tough Situations (Manchester United)
“We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.” When Ruben Amorim said that in a live press conference, it made every headline in world football. Coach Roberto Avey breaks down the clips and asks the bigger question: is that how a leader takes over a struggling team? The lessons apply far beyond football — to business, coaching, and any new leadership role.
- Never badmouth your team in public. Say what you need behind closed doors — never in front of the world.
- The new leader owns part of the problem. If the team performs worse after you arrive, you’re a big percentage of the issue.
- Adapt your system to your people. You can’t run “your style” at 100% with players who don’t fit it — run it at 50% until you have your people.
- Don’t be stubborn when you can see the iceberg. Roll with the punches, move roles around, pivot.
- Leadership needs training. Football is a business — press and people skills don’t come automatically from 20 years of kicking a ball.
“Don’t hold back, buddy”
The breakdown opens with the quote itself. Roberto’s reaction: whoa — is that how you feel about your team? Imagine a new leader in a company walking in and announcing “my team sucks.” You will get nothing out of your players — or your employees — after that. A new coach losing more games than the last coach is a huge part of the problem himself: the players don’t want you yet, and you can’t impose your system at 100% before your own players arrive.
The headlines write themselves
“You want headlines? Here are your headlines: MY TEAM SUCKS.” Roberto asks whether Amorim has had any press training at all — because football is a business, just like the one you walk into every morning. Reaching a leadership position requires leadership skills, no matter how long you’ve been on the pitch. And if you’re going to be cheeky off the cuff, you’d better back it up with results.
What Amorim got right
To be fair, the clips also show Amorim owning the moment: “Everybody here is underperforming… it’s unacceptable to lose so many games for any club in the Premier League — imagine Manchester United… we have to continue, there is no other way. We need to suffer.” He admits he knew installing a completely new idea mid-season would be hard. The honesty is real — the delivery is the problem.
If you lead a new team, listen
Roberto closes with the playbook for anyone taking over a struggling team: never badmouth your people, publicly or otherwise. Get the most out of the team you have. Change responsibilities and roles; move people around. Don’t be hard-headed, don’t be stubborn — roll with the punches and pivot. And a wink to finish: “Amorim, we’re thankful you’re here — you’re definitely better than the last guy. Then again, anybody could have been better than the last guy.”
Full Video Transcript
Amorim (clip): “So, um, we are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.”
Roberto: Whoa, whoa, whoa buddy — don’t hold back! Is that how you feel about your team, about your players? Is that what we’re getting when a new coach — that is losing more than the last coach — comes in? You’re 60% of the problem. They were playing worse, you knew what you were coming into, you have players that don’t want you. You can’t play Amorim-style football 100% — you’ve got to do Amorim-style football 50% until you get your new players in.
Amorim (clip): “That’s it. I’m not going to change, no matter what.”
Roberto: Is this the moment to be hard-headed? You see the iceberg ahead of you and you’re going to drive right into it, Mr. Titanic? What’s going on?
Amorim (clip): “I know we can succeed, but we need to survive this moment, because I’m not naive and I know that we need to survive now… we are being the worst team maybe in history of Manchester United.”
Roberto: The worst team in the history of Manchester United — whoa, let us know how you really feel! Is that how a leader comes into a new gig? Can you imagine in corporate, or in your own business, somebody comes in: “my team sucks”? Amorim, you’re a big part of the issue, man. You’re not going to get anything out of your players by saying they suck. You can say whatever you want to them behind closed doors, in the locker room, on the training pitch — but in front of everyone else, you can’t say that type of stuff. I know you want headlines… well, here you go, here are your headlines: MY TEAM SUCKS. Has this guy had any press training? This is insane. Listen — football is a business, just like corporate. You have to have had some type of training when you get to a leadership position. I don’t care if you’ve been kicking a ball around for the last 20 years — you have to have those leadership skills. You can be a little bit cheeky, off the cuff — that’s fine. But if you’re going to be off the cuff and cheeky, you’d better demonstrate it on the pitch.
Amorim (clip): “Everybody here is underperforming. No matter the circumstances, we are underperforming and we have to accept that. It’s unacceptable to lose so many games for any club in the Premier League — imagine Manchester United. So it’s a really hard moment, but we have to continue. There is no other way. We need to suffer and continue. I knew it was going to be hard to put a completely new idea in this moment, but when you lose games you don’t have that luck. That’s why I’m telling you we are going to suffer — because I will continue to do the same.”
Roberto: If you’re a leader, this is a great example of what NOT to do when you’re coming into a difficult new position. Don’t badmouth your team — ever. Try to get the most out of the players, out of your team members. Change responsibilities and roles, move people around. Don’t be hard-headed. Do not be stubborn. Roll with the punches — pivot, change. Amorim, we’re thankful you’re here at Manchester United. You’re definitely better than the last guy… well, I think anybody could have been better than the last guy.
Transcript lightly edited from YouTube captions for readability.
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